2024-04-11 20:27:22
In October 1993, the first McDonald’s branch in Israel opened in the Ayalon Mall in Ramat Gan. I stumbled upon the scene and I remember the long lines that stretched from the Ayalon Mall in Bnei Brak on the way to the long-awaited beef patty. Those were the days of the cheerful Oslo Accords. All the international business entities that were hiding behind the scenes for fear of the Arab boycott emerged from their hiding. McDonald’s was one of them. The Swiss Nestlé was another.
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And there were also the Safra brothers who hid their ownership of the international bank until the agreements and came to the fore. American banks such as Citi Bank groped their way to Israel and were even interested in buying Bank Leumi. These were the fruits of the peace accords in Oslo that made Israel one of the most embraced in the world. Yitzhak Rabin became the king of the world thanks to his connections with President Bill Clinton.
And now we will return with merciless cruelty to April 2024. Israel under the auspices of Benjamin Netanyahu has turned from the Switzerland of the Middle East into an almost leprous country. The story is not Turkey. You can survive even without everything included. There is reason to worry about the business aspect concerning the enlightened Western countries. The governor, Prof. Amir Yaron, admitted in an interview that I conducted with him that Israel’s henna is in the eyes of investors around the world. Yishai Davidi, the founder of the successful Fimi investment fund in Israel, said similar things.
The worst of all is that the contemptuous attitude also comes from the USA. The main business sentiment there is the green note with the inscription IN GOD WE TRUST. More than a year ago, in the name of the God of Money, Unilever, owner of the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream brand, decided to cancel its marketing franchise The ice creams in Israel because of the sales in the territories.
The negative record was recorded this week when it was reported that Omri Padan, the franchisee of McDonald’s Israel, had decided to sell the franchise to the parent company. Padan was smart to make an exit from the movies, he had better read the situation and not make an embarrassing scandal. The brand entrepreneur decided to quietly fold and not fight the American McDonald’s in a move that could harm all parties and end in tears.
The Americans actually forced him to sell only because during the Gaza war he distributed thousands of meatballs to soldiers and other treats. This is the place to remind the Bibiists that Padan, from Mobili Shalom Now, preferred the national interest over his private business. So they should learn what Zionism is.
The McDonald’s deal proves the backdoor return of the boycott of Israel. Although it will be in polite washed-up language with reptilian annexation, but the process has already begun. With all due respect to the ten million Israelis, the purchasing power of the hundreds of millions of Muslims in meatballs, ice creams, roasted poultry and cosmetic products is much greater.
Despite the exciting catastrophe, no discussion has yet been held in the government to examine how the phenomenon can be combated or at least curbed. Apparently it bores Netanyahu, like that resident of Kiryat Shmona who shouted at him at one of the conferences. The million dollar question is why did the drift occur? Why did we return to the difficult days after the Yom Kippur War?
The answer is relatively simple. To this day, Bibi has sold us the legend that there is no connection between peace with the Palestinians and security. He proved it in the Abraham agreements that were signed with the Emirates thanks to Donald Trump. But this is exactly where he got stuck. The peace initiative with Saudi Arabia was shattered only because Netanyahu is unable to pronounce the words “Palestinian Authority” or “the day after”. Give him the phrase “absolute victory” and he will sleep great. And yes, the theory that there is peace without Palestinians and without security has been shattered to pieces.
IDF Spokesman Daniel Hagari addressing the foreign media (Photo: IDF Spokesman)
If Netanyahu only thinks about his personal fate than the fate of our dear country, we will all continue to move forward on the sure path of becoming the most leprous country in the world. We have worked very hard in the last 30 years to achieve the extraordinary economic achievements in the international arena. No “haram, that everything will now go down the drain?
The full column will be published tomorrow in Maariv
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